I never realized Hilton was fired, even though he was on meal break. Makes you want to take a second thought about having a meal break when on watch.
VANCOUVER — Karl Lilgert, the navigating officer of the BC Ferries vessel Queen of the North — which sank off the northern tip of Vancouver Island on March 22, 2006 — has been charged with criminal negligence causing the deaths of passengers Gerald Foisy and Shirley Rosette.
The charges were sworn today in Provincial Court in Vancouver, and the next appearance has been scheduled for Wednesday April 14, according to a news release.
At 12:22 a.m. on March 22, 2006 the British Columbia ferry Queen of the North struck bottom along the north side of Gil Island in Wright Sound. The vessel sank approximately 80 minutes later. While passengers and crew abandoned the vessel before it sank, passengers Gerald Foisy and Shirley Rosette could not be located following the sinking.
Lilgert has been charged with two counts of criminal negligence causing death, on the basis that he was the navigating officer responsible for steering of the vessel at the time of the incident.
The available evidence does not support the laying of charges against anyone other than Lilgert, according to the news release.
Lilgert was released on $5,000 bail on the conditions that he does not come in contact with 17 listed crew members, including captain Colin Henthorne and second officer Kevin Hilton; abstains from operating a vessel in a professional capacity and attend the Grand Forks RCMP detachment within one week for fingerprinting and photographing.
The Queen of the North sank March 22, 2006, in Wright Passage after it failed to make a crucial turn and struck Gil Island. Ninety-nine of the 101 passengers and crew got off the vessel onto lifeboats.
Henthorne was not on the bridge at the time of the crash.
Hilton was on a scheduled meal break, leaving crew members, and former lovers, Lilgert and Karen Bricker in control of the vessel when it went aground.
Transportation Safety Board report concluded the sinking happened in part because of the lack of a third qualified person on the bridge to aid Bricker.
Lilgert, Hilton and Bricker were subsequently fired by the company.
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